A suspended medical doctor was found guilty Friday of two felonies related to selling pre-signed medical marijuana certificates to supposed patients through a co-defendant at a Warren store.

Lois Butler-Jackson, 52, who practiced in Clinton Township and elsewhere, was convicted of health care fraud and “conspiracy to commit (an) offense or legal act in (an) illegal manner” following a four-day trial in front of a jury in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.

Butler-Jackson of Detroit blindly approved hundreds of medical marijuana certificates that were sold to people to obtain a patient card under the Medical Marijuana Act, according to law enforcement officials. Butler-Jackson failed to follow the law that required her to establish a doctor-patient relationship and obtain a patient history.

“We looked at this as a scam and fraud that was taking advantage of the Medical Marijuana Act that voters passed,” said Assistant Macomb Prosecutor William Dailey, who prosecuted the case with First Assistant Attorney General William Rollstin. “We relied on this doctor to make a professional assessment. She abused her power and authority for money.”

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Butler-Jackson frowned upon hearing the verdict and turned to talk with her mother in the courtroom gallery.

Her attorney, Eastpointe-based Charles Merlo, could not be reached for comment afterward.

Merlo during the pretrial stage tried to get both charges thrown out based on immunity, and the conspiracy charge removed on the contention she was not acting in an illegal manner.

An appeal attempt on the immunity issue was turned down by the state Court of Appeals.

The MMA, which was passed by voters in 2008, has been tested in many court cases over the past four years.

Prosecutors said that Butler-Jackson sold the signed certificates for $100 to the accused middleman, Brian Deloose, who allegedly resold them for $250 at his “Safe Access Clinic” at his appliance store. Officials alleged more than 300 were sold.

Deloose, 36, of Eastpointe, is charged with three counts of delivery or manufacture of marijuana and one count each of intentionally placing false information on a chart and conspiracy to commit a legal act or offense in an illegal manner. He faces a Feb. 6 pretrial in front of Judge Diane Druzinski, who presided over Butler-Jackson’s trial.

Clinton Township police’s investigation revealed that Deloose instructed patients to return 20 days after registering to purchase marijuana, officials said. The state MMA provides that if an applicant’s paperwork is not processed within 20 days, then a copy of the application serves as a valid medical marijuana registration card.

Undercover township officers purchased completed packets with certificates signed by Butler-Jackson without ever meeting her in person or obtaining her review of their medical records, authorities said. Those officers returned with the original applications 20 days later to purchase marijuana from Deloose’s appliance store.

Butler-Jackson worked as a home-care physician for Sentinel Wound Care Associates in Clinton Township. Her license to practice medicine, issued in 1988, is under suspension, according to records of the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

Butler-Jackson could face jail or prison time when she is sentenced March 5 by Druzinski. The conspiracy charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and the fraud charge carries a top penalty of five years in prison.

About the Author

My beat is the courts of Macomb County and general assignment.
Read more of Jameson Cook's court coverage on his blog http://courthousedish.blogspot.com/ Reach the author at jamie.cook@macombdaily.com
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